Scientific name: Threskiornis aethiopicus
An adult individual is 68 cm (27 in) long with all-white body plumage apart from dark plumes on the rump. The bald head and neck, thick curved bill and legs are black. The white wings show a black rear border in flight. Sexes are similar, but juveniles have dirty white plumage, a smaller bill and some feathering on the neck. This bird is usually silent, but occasionally makes some croaking noises, unlike its vocal relative, the hadada ibis.
It generally prefers the margins of inland freshwater wetlands, coastal lagoons, the intertidal zone, offshore islands, grassland, open habitats and man-made habitats, such as cultivated land, dams, sewage works, lawns, farmyards, refuse tips and abattoirs.
It mainly eats invertebrates, doing most of its foraging on moist ground, probing the soil or snapping up prey from the ground surface.
